Hand-Colored Photo "Dancing Down by the Rio Puerco" — M. Cruz

A hand-colored photographic print by New Mexico artist M. Cruz, titled Dancing Down by the Rio Puerco. The image stages a barefoot woman in a vivid pink dress balancing atop a painted ceramic globe, gripping a weathered wooden post against a dramatic high desert sky. Cruz applies selective colorization with deliberate effect — saturated pink, teal, and warm yellow set against a near-monochromatic landscape — giving the work a surrealist, folkloric charge rooted firmly in the New Mexico terrain. The volcanic mesa and scrubland visible in the background are consistent with the Rio Puerco corridor of central New Mexico.

Pencil signed lower right and titled in the artist's hand along the lower mat. Acquired in Santa Fe. Presented in a black wood frame with wide white mat behind glass.

CONDITION

Good. The print and mat present cleanly with strong color and no visible fading or foxing. The black wood frame shows scuffing along its edges consistent with handling and age.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (framed): 14.75" × 15.75"
• Visible image: 7.5" × 9.5"
• Frame: Black wood
• Glazed: Yes — behind glass
• Matted: Wide white mat board
• Signed: Pencil, lower right — M. Cruz
• Title inscription: Pencil on mat, lower register — Dancing Down by the Rio Puerco
• Provenance: Acquired in Santa Fe, New Mexico